A raft of European nations, including Italy and Belgium, yesterday took desperate new measures to try to combat a second wave of SARS-CoV-2 infections as the worldwide COVID-19 caseload topped 40 million.
The latest global milestone came just hours after the number of people who have died from COVID-19 passed 250,000 in Europe, according to an Agency France-Presse tally, as the pandemic rampages across much of the continent.
Many governments are seeking to avoid the full-on lockdowns imposed in the first wave as they battle to keep their economies going, but in some countries, people are chafing against the new restrictions on daily life.
Warning: Excessive consumption of alcohol can damage your health Photo: Reuters
In Belgium, where hospitalizations rose 100 percent in the past week, bars and restaurants were closed yesterday for a month and a curfew is to be reinforced overnight.
“Managers, chefs, dishwashers, everyone is suffering,” Angelo Bussi said as he put the key in the lock of his Brussels restaurant late on Sunday.
“We don’t feel like anyone cares. It breaks my heart,” he said before shrugging and walking off into the night. “Ah, well there we are, see you in a month.”
Photo: AFP
Belgium’s second major lockdown comes after Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo said that the situation was “much worse” than in March, when there was an almost complete confinement.
Italy also announced fresh curbs, including earlier closures for bars and restaurants, and a push to increase working from home.
“We cannot waste time,” Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said, also flagging bans on amateur team sports and local festivals.
In Poland, where about half the country is now designated as a coronavirus “red zone,” the government said that the national stadium would double as a field hospital to help ease the strain on healthcare facilities.
Switzerland has made mask-wearing compulsory in indoor public spaces and put limits on public gatherings after infections doubled over the past week.
“The second wave is here, earlier and stronger than we expected, but we are prepared,” Swiss Minister of Health Alain Berset said.
Meanwhile, a lockdown was eased in Austalia’s second-biggest city as residents flocked to reopened hair salons and golf courses that had been closed for more than 100 days.
Melbourne’s 5 million inhabitants were allowed to leave their homes for more than two hours a day for the first time since July, but most retail businesses are to remain shut until at least next month.
A vaccine remains the great hope to end the cycle of lockdowns across the world, and the UN yesterday said that it would stockpile a billion syringes worldwide by the end of next year for that purpose.
“Vaccinating the world against COVID-19 will be one of the largest mass undertakings in human history, and we will need to move as quickly as the vaccines can be produced,” UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said.
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